Ken Dunkin has been one of the most ineffective and erratic legislators in the General Assembly. The people of the 5th District and the State of Illinois deserve much better leadership than Ken has provided during his time in Springfield. Whether the issue is crime, taxes, or political cronyism, Ken Dunkin is the worst of the worst. For those voters who may not be familiar with his record of failure and incompetence, here are some highlights (or low lights) which illustrate why Ken does not deserve another term.
* Voted against tougher penalties for gang violence, domestic violence, and child abuse
* Voted to raise taxes on working and middle class families
* Did not vote to impeach former governor Rod Blagojevich
* Falsely smeared his last opponent with illegal, anonymous mailers
* One of only six reps to support Blagojevich’s plan to lease the state lottery – even after it became apparent that the city’s lease of the parking meters was a bad deal
* Voted against giving hotel workers two 15 minute breaks and access to clean water
* Voted against the Smoke Free Illinois Act
#1. Ken Dunkin doesn’t take crime seriously
Ken Dunkin has a record of being soft on violent crime. Dunkin has opposed tougher penalties for gang violence, domestic violence, and child abuse. He voted against toughening penalties for gang recruitment. Ken even voted against a bill that would make it easier for law enforcement personnel to investigate child pornography.
Hate crimes – crimes where people are targeted specifically because of their race – are a particularly awful kind of violent crime. Victims of hate crimes should have an ally in Springfield, someone who will be a fight for them. Instead, Ken Dunkin was the only Democrat to refuse to vote for disclosure of hate crimes and to require the State Police to make data on hate crimes available to the public.
Ken even voted against toughening penalties on crimes against senior citizens. And he’s never tried to put more police on our streets.
#2. Ken was one of Blagojevich’s strongest allies in Springfield
Ken did not attend the vote to impeach former governor Rod Blagojevich. “[H]is absence did raise eyebrows as Dunkin has been a vocal supporter of Blago. Dunkin had called the impeachment a ‘witch hunt’ and said upon his return, ‘Just because other members had issues with him, doesn’t mean that I share those particular issues or those particular nuances.’ The Sun-Times ran this headline:
State rep. chose Caribbean cruise over impeachment vote.
Prior to the impeachment vote, Ken voted “no” on a bill to give the people the ability to recall corrupt public officials like Blago. He also voted “no” on a bill to create a nonpartisan nomination panel to provide the governor with a list of nominees for the State Board of Education (in place of letting Blago appoint anyone he wanted to). After the impeachment conviction, Ken thought Blagojevich still deserved having his portrait painted and hung in the Capitol – at taxpayers’ expense.
When he ran for re-election, Governor Blagojevich spent almost half a million dollars plastering his name on signs all over the state. Kenneth Dunkin was the sole member of the Illinois House to vote against prohibiting state officeholders from plastering their names on every sign they can get their hands on.
That’s right: It was Dunkin vs. 109 of his colleagues.
“The legislation,” the Sun-Times explains, “stems from the $480,000 purchase and installation of 32 signs bearing Blagojevich’s name promoting I-Pass lanes along the Illinois tollway system. The signs were installed in the midst of the governor’s 2006 re-election campaign.”
Ken was the only legislator to support Blagojevich’s efforts to spend the taxpayers’ money on unnecessary signs that amounting to nothing more than publically financed political ads.
Ken’s support for Blagojevich has undercut his effectiveness in Springfield. Despite being in office since 2003, Ken is one of only two Democrats who does not chair a committee. This year, two veteran House Democrats who were sympathetic toward former Gov. Rod Blagojevich — Jay Hoffman of Collinsville and Ken Dunkin of Chicago — have not been given any committee to chair by House Speaker Michael Madigan, who often clashed with Blagojevich.
#3. Ken ran a despicable campaign for 3rd Ward Committeeman
Ken Dunkin is a dirty campaigner who used personal attacks to smear his opponent, Alderman Pat Dowell, in the waning days of their 2008 campaign. Dunkin still refuses to comment on his having sent out a libelous and scurrilous mailing throughout the 3rd Ward falsely accusing her of being a lesbian. Enough of the dirty politics – we deserve better.
A copy of the mailing and more details about why it was so underhanded can be found here:
When confronted with these nasty and untrue attacks, he has refused all comment.
#4. Ken has done nothing in Springfield
We need a representative who can deliver for our district. But Dunkin’s loyalty to his friend, Rod Blagojevich, has undercut his ability to get anything done for us in Springfield. He has has represented the 5th District since 2003 but has no few legislative accomplishments during his time in Springfield. As a result, he was one of only two Democrats in Springfield not to Chair a Committee, and he’s now wasting time with pointless legislation, like a bill to ban texting and walking at the same time. Many articles were written about how ridiculous this proposal was.
Ken Dunkin was one of only six house members to vote for Blagojevich’s hare-brained plan to privatize the state lottery. Not only was this bad fiscal policy, leaving the state with less money for education, but it removed any oversight from the system. Now costs for education are soaring and still nothing’s been done to fix inequalities in school funding.
Ken Dunkin is a typical Springfield politician. With Ken Dunkin, the special interests have an ally in Springfield. Dunkin has taken $32,000 from the special interests and sponsored a bill to make it harder to prosecute lobbyists for lying on their expense reports, and refused to restrict legislators from personally earmarking tax dollars to go to special interests.
The Democrats have been in control in Springfield the entire time Ken has been there. But Ken couldn’t be bothered to sponsor and pass legislation that is important to the 5th District and the State of Illinois.
#5. Ken is no friend of labor
Rep. Kenneth ‘Ken’ Dunkin supported the interests of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce 51 percent in 2007-2008. This is the highest percentage of any Chicago Democratic member of the House. Ken has received huge amounts of money from the insurance and hospitality industries. So it’s no coincidence that Ken slammed a bill designed to give housekeepers in hotels two 15 min. breaks and access to water. WATCH HERE
#6 – Ken Dunkin voted to raise your taxes, but didn’t pay his
Ken Dunkin has voted for higher income taxes1 and voted against repealing the Cook County sales tax increase2 that makes sales taxes for residents of the 5th District the highest in the nation. Dunkin made these votes without proposing any spending cuts, and without regard to the fact that low and middle income earners will bear the brunt of these taxes.
While Dunkin is ready to raise taxes on average people, he managed to find a way to avoid paying his own state income taxes. The Illinois Department of Revenue filed a tax lien against Dunkin in December 1998 for $825.04 in unpaid taxes and penalties. Dunkin did eventually pay the back taxes, but not until December 2002 – after Dunkin was elected state representative.
When running against an incumbent politician, particularly in a primary election, it is not enough for a challenger to simply make the case that he is qualified for the office he is seeking. He has an additional burden of demonstrating why his opponent should not be re-elected. When it comes to Ken Dunkin, that has been an easy case to make.
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